I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW
by Jamie11
Summary: Song-based fiction about Lorelai. L/L


A/N – Okay, I know what you all are saying…with as many stories as I've got going, I'm starting ANOTHER new one?  Yes, yes, I am…Sorry!  Perhaps I do have completion issues…(Though I solemnly swear on whichever holy text you prefer that I WILL finish ALL of them!)

Anyway, slight background on what prompted me to start yet another story…I am a very musical person…i.e., I enjoy music tremendously, and must always have it on.  Much to my regret, I have no actual musical talent whatsoever.  Otherwise, I'd be exactly like Lane.  (Well, except for the whole being a repressed Korean teenager thing)  Anyway, I was cleaning the other day, and had my AM Gold 1972 cd on (great cleaning music), and the song "I Can See Clearly Now" began playing.  As I was listening to the music, folding laundry, and thinking of how to progress all of my other stories, it struck me that this song would be great for a JavaJunkie story.  Now, we all know that I don't advocate the Luke/Lorelai pairing for bunches of reasons, but I just can't help myself in this case…the song wants to become a story.

Also, since I once received an incredibly mean review regarding an inaccuracy in another story, I've begun researching my facts very thoroughly.  (It's amazing what you can find on the Internet!)  In 1984, the year the first chapter takes place (Rory was 16 in 2000, thus born in 1984), the price of gas in Connecticut was $1.25.  Most 1984 vehicles have 15-gallon gas tanks.  (My first car was a 1983 Buick LeSabre…putting gas in that thing at current prices seriously sucked – I was very relieved (secretly, of course) when my brother fried the engine of it, and forced my parents to buy me a new car that he wasn't (and still isn't) allowed to touch.)

DISCLAIMER:  I don't own it…not the characters, the song, anything.  I do own the idea of turning the song into a story, though, so steal that, and…well, I'm not gonna say what I usually say, because I want to keep the rating low, but suffice it to say that a certain part of your anatomy would become grass.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW – VERSE ONE

_I can see clearly now, the rain has gone_

_I can see all obstacles in my way_

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind 

_It's going to be a bright, bright, bright, bright sunshiny day._

She looked around her bedroom one last time.  _Looks like I've got everything…my clothes, Rory's clothes, her toys…should I take some of that jewelry?  It's worth a lot of money…I can always sell it, if I can't find a job soon.  Yep, that settles it…it's coming with us._  With that thought, she scooped up the silver jewelry box, and emptied its contents into her purse.  She shouldered the purse and the two gym bags, and picked up her tiny daughter.  "C'mon, Rory…let's get out of here."  She walked out of the room, and the house, without a second glance.

About half an hour later, she noticed that she was running low on gas, and pulled off the highway, into a tiny town.  As she drove along the main street, she glanced around, looking for a gas station.  "Isn't this town cute, Rory?  Even its name is adorable…Stars Hollow.  I think it would've been nice to grow up in a place like this.  Would you want to live in a town like this?"

She pulled into the gas station, and climbed out of the car, as an odd looking young man approached her.  

"Please get back in the car.  You have a baby.  Babies get sick a lot, and I don't want to catch anything from you."  He spoke in a flat tone.

"Uh…okay."  Lorelai responded, giving him a weird look as she sat back down, and pulled the door shut.  

When he had finished pumping the gas, he tapped on her window.  "That will be $18.75."

Lorelai handed him a twenty, and glanced past him, to where a Korean woman was sitting, rocking a small infant.  "Hey, do you know if there's a place to stay around here?"

"The Independence Inn."  He replied as he handed her the change.

"How do I get there?"

"Go straight…can't miss it."

"Okay, thanks."

She drove to the inn, and when she arrived, was amazed…it was even quainter than the rest of the town.  "Rory…" she whispered, "I think we've found home."

She walked into the inn, and up to the front desk.  A woman about her mother's age was standing there, sorting through some papers.  "Excuse me."  Lorelai said politely.

The woman looked up.  "Can I help you?"

"I want a job.  Any job."

"I see…do you have any experience?"

"No."

"Qualifications?"

"None."

"Any skills at all?"

"I can flawlessly apply mascara in a moving car, but other than that, no."

"I see."  The woman looked Lorelai up and down, taking in everything from the designer clothes, to the small infant cradled in the girl's arms.  "So there's basically no reason why I should hire you."

Lorelai attempted to quash the sudden fear she felt, and looked the woman straight in the eye.  "My name is Lorelai Gilmore.  I know that it seems like hiring me would be the biggest mistake you could make, but I assure you, you wouldn't regret it."

"Is that so?  My name is Mia.  Tell me, Lorelai Gilmore, do you have a place to live?"  

Lorelai shook her head slowly.  "It's a temporary problem.  I can pay to stay here at the inn until I find an apartment."

Mia continued looking at the determined teen, a hint of a smile forming about her lips.  "Do you have a baby sitter?"

Lorelai shook her head once again.  "Not yet.  If you agreed to give me a job, I was going to ask you if you could recommend someone."

"I would probably suggest Mrs. Kim.  I'm sure you can work something out with her."

"Great.  Where can I find her?"   Lorelai grinned at the other woman, overwhelmingly relieved at having found a job so quickly.

"She owns Kim's Antiques in town."

"Alright.  Can I bring our things in first?"

"Of course.  I'll have one of the bellhops help you."

"Thanks so much, Mia.  I promise, you won't regret this."

Mia smiled warmly.  "I don't doubt that at all."

It didn't take very long for Lorelai to carry her few bags to the room Mia had given her.  Taking a quick glance in the mirror to make sure she was still presentable, she scooped Rory up into her arms, swinging the tiny girl high into the air.  "See, Rory!  I promised you, we'd be just fine!"  Holding her daughter to her chest, she headed back towards the tiny town of Stars Hollow, in search of Mrs. Kim.

A/N – that's it for the first chapter, and also for the year 1984!  The next chapter will take place in the present, i.e., Season Three of the Gilmore Girls, and possibly a little future-ish.  Please please please take the time to let me know if I should continue, or if I need to just focus on my other stories, and quit with the attempts at song fics.  


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